Shearwater keel was laid down on January 4, 1929 – A news clip from the Boothbay Register reflects alongside a photograph “Tyler Hodgon at the old Tide Mill is getting out timbers for the schooner to be built at Rice’s. Vessel to be built of native white oak.” Traditionally built from hand-hewn native white oak, she was the last boat to be constructed at that yard, likely due to the ensuing Great Depression brought on by the Stock Market Crash that occurred later that autumn. East Boothbay was a small coastal town with shipbuilding being its only industry. About 40 workmen were employed for the construction of SHEARWATER.
Her designer Theodore Donald Wells was born in Hudson Falls, N Y on October 22, 1875. He was a naval architect and marine engineer, a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and also the Institute of Naval Architects London.
SHEARWATER was launched on May 4, 1929 and photographs in the Boothbay Register reflect her graceful and elegant lines. Her first Captain, Leon Esterbrook of Edgarton, MA, arrived to take charge of the fitting out. Her owner Charles E Dunlap was a member of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, NY and this became SHEARWATER’s first homeport after her completion in late September 1929. It was there in Oyster Bay that she first started to thrill those who sailed in luxury aboard her and those who were privileged to crew her on race day.
The Classic Yacht Register of Heritage: Schooner Shearwater
Hand built in 1929 from native hardwoods, the 82-foot schooner Shearwater harkens back to a bygone era of yachting. One of New York City’s only floating designated landmarks, Shearwater has been taking New Yorkers and the city’s visitors sailing in the harbor since 2001. She celebrated her 80th birthday in 2009 and still going strong and sailing gracefully, the Gatsby-era yacht comfortably accommodates up to 48 passengers, and departs daily from lower Manhattan’s North Cove Marina on public sails and private charters. For further information visit Manhattan by Sail here
* Noteworthy
1762 – Great Britain enters the Seven Years’ War against Spain and Naples.
1853 – After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
1854 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
1865 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters near Wall Street in New York City.
1889 – The Oklahoma Land Run opens two million acres of unused Oklahoma Territory to first serve first come settlers on April 22